Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 1:

Some of the travel industry’s prominent and influential figures are scheduled to head to Qatar at the beginning of May to discuss fundamental changes in the tourism industry as part of the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Fourth Global Travel and Tourism Summit.

The summit, which is being hosted by Qatar Airways, will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha from May 1-3, under the theme of ‘Summit is Driving Change’.

According to a press release issued here by Qatar Airways today, Easy Jet’s founder Stelio Haji-Ioannou, Tui’s chairman Dr Michael Frenzel, the Inter-continental’s chief executive Richard North, the BBC’s Nik Gowing, McKinsey’s managing director Ian Davis, IATA’s chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani are among the many tourism leaders that have confirmed their participation in the summit.

“The Global Summit will draw many leaders from the world’s leading tourism companies to discuss major issues facing the industry,” said Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer of Qatar Airways. “We are expecting up to 700 delegates to descend in Doha, including government ministers, chief executive officers, managing directors, all influential players within the tourism industry, “ he added. “The series of issues that the tourism industry has had to confront in the last few years has meant that the travel industry must create new ways of doing things if it is to sustain growth into the future.

The summit is designed to create a forum where the industry’s major players can sit together and discuss priorities for change and how these changes should be implemented. “The agenda will be how media influences consumers, current economic trends, new management styles, investment opportunities, the ‘seamless travel experience’, new destinations and new markets,” said Al Baker.